


Fic: Shape of Things to Come

by dedougal



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-21
Updated: 2010-09-21
Packaged: 2017-10-17 15:19:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/178224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dedougal/pseuds/dedougal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Senior year means giving everything a go because it will be your last chance. And when your crush asks you to join his string quartet, well, there's nothing else for it. Title from the, cough, BSG soundtrack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fic: Shape of Things to Come

Jensen loved two things in his life: music and Jared Padalecki. It was no coincidence that they were so intertwined. But it was a shame that one was much more achievable than the other – he’d definitely learned how to play. But maybe this year everything would change. Everyone said senior year was the best, and the last, chance to make a difference. Maybe this year Jensen could make a difference in his own life.

Jensen had started playing the cello by accident. Well, not entirely. He had seen one Jared Padalecki on the first day of high school carrying a violin case. Steve had made some joke about tommy guns but Jensen had decided then and there that playing the violin was top of his list of priorities. There had been no violin slots open. Jensen took the cello, the next option offered. One instrument was much like another, he’d reckoned. And being part of the music crowd meant he was one step closer to knowing more about Jared Padalecki.

It had taken Jensen about six months to understand why he wanted to know more about Jared Padalecki.

Practise looked to be the same as it would always be for orchestra. The brass section would forget their music and end up freestyling until Mr Morgan told them to quit. One of the percussion guys would be stoned and the bassoonist would not have practised at all. And Jensen would spend a lot of time using the excuse of taking a cue to watch the first violin. Everyone had cheered when Jared was chosen.

Jensen was late, having been held back to discuss a potential science final project. He hated being late. In fact, he tended to show up too early. Instead he could hear the opening notes of their current big number as he raced along the corridor. His cello was already in the room courtesy of Danneel. She would set up if she arrived first and vice versa.

He skidded into the room and gave up any idea of being able to sneak off to his place without being noticed.

Mr Morgan waved the orchestra to silence. "Good of you to join us."

Jensen took a couple of quick breaths before holding out the note he'd made Ms Jakolski write. Mr Morgan kept him standing there while he read it. Jensen let his eyes wander over the familiar faces of the group. Dani had kept his place, cello leaning up against his chair rather precipitously. He let his eyes sweep around to Jared's usual seat. Jared was there, sure enough, but this time Jensen realised Jared was watching him right back. Then Jared smiled. At him.

Jensen made his way to his seat. The rest of the rehearsal went as predicted pretty much except for the fact that whenever his eyes went to Jared instead of being fixed on Mr Morgan or his music, Jared was watching him back. Jensen was elated and terrified in equal measure. Why on earth was Jared watching him?

As he was packing up (Danneel had vanished to flirt with Mr Morgan) he realised Jared had come over and was helping him. Jared held the lid of Jensen's case open as he slipped his cello gently into place.

“Hi,” Jared said, still smiling. Jensen nodded and gulped nervously. He was a little worried about what would come out of his mouth if he started talking.

Jared didn’t seem to take any notice of his silence. “I’m thinking of putting together a senior string quartet. Sophia plays viola and we’ve got Chad on the double bass.” Chad was a bit of an ass but he was Jared’s best friend. Sophia was his girlfriend. It made sense that they were involved. “And I’m the violin. So we need a cellist. You’d be great.”

Jensen shook his head. “Danneel...”

“Isn’t as good as you.” Jared pronounced this quite matter of factly. Jensen knew he was blushing. “Don’t be modest. You’re really good and I know you must practise lots because you always get it right. So it’d be great to have you.”

Jensen carefully closed his instrument case and fastened the catches. “I don’t know...” He could kick himself. He was the opportunity he’d been waiting for. Up close and personal time with Jared.

“Listen. Are you free this weekend?” Jensen nodded. “We’re getting together on Saturday morning at my house. Why don’t you come past around ten? Bring your cello and your favourite piece to play. And see how it feels.” Jared’s grin had faded around the edges and his eyes were serious. Jensen understood the invitation to be genuine.

“I’ll do it.” Jensen was lost for a moment in the brilliance of Jared’s answering smile.

“Great. Give me your phone number.” Jared fished his phone out of a pocket and entered Jensen’s number as he recited it carefully, desperate not to let his voice shake. “I’ll text you my address. And then you’ll have my number too.” Jared matched action to words and typed away at the keypad. Jensen felt his cell vibrate.

Jared turned to wave at Chad who was shouting for his attention. Most of the rest of the orchestra had already cleared out. Jensen hastily gathered his case and his backpack and started to head towards the door. He needed to talk to Dani about Jared’s offer. Jared stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. He spoke softly. “And Jensen? I’m really glad you’ll think about playing with us. It’d mean a lot to me.”

Jared held eye contact with Jensen after he’d finished speaking. A slight red flush spread along his cheeks and he worried at his bottom lip with his teeth. It was obvious that he was sincere about what he was saying. Jensen panicked and tried to come up with a suitable response that didn’t involve saying the words “love” and “you”. He was only partially successful. “I’ll love it. I’m sure,” he stuttered.

Chad yelled at Jared to hurry up and Jared snatched his hand off Jensen’s shoulder and went to pick up his own stuff. Jared turned and waved before he left Jensen alone in the room. He sat down on his empty seat again.

Jared Padalecki had invited him to his house. Jared Padalecki had asked for his phone number. And Jared Padalecki had seemed genuinely concerned that Jensen would say yes.

Would it be bad if Jensen were to reveal that he would do anything Jared Padalecki asked?

  
Jensen checked his watch again. He was early. He was also a little unsure of the etiquette. Should he just knock at the door or wait for a few more minutes? He sat in his car and watched Jared’s front door. He was surprised to see it open and Jared stroll out in sweat pants and a worn t-shirt. Jared smiled and gestured that Jensen should come in.

Dani had helped him put together an outfit the night before. He was going for something casual. She told him to wear his best jeans. They had compromised on the shirt. Now he was confronted by Jared in his scruffy clothing, Jensen felt tremendously overdressed.

“Hey,” Jared greeted him, as he came nearer to the door. “I thought I saw your car pull up. Glad you found the house okay. That’s a nice shirt. Can I get you something to drink?” Jared spoke so quickly that Jensen had to take a minute to work out what Jared had said.

“Coffee?” Jensen blurted out in return. He followed Jared into the house and through to the kitchen. Jared pulled a mug from a top cupboard, revealing a stretch of naked skin along his waistband. Jensen dropped his eyes to the counter as Jared turned. “Milk? Sugar?”

“Black’s fine,” Jensen replied, as he took the mug. Jared sat at the table and Jensen copied him. The silence went on and on. Jensen sipped the too hot drink to avoid having to make conversation.

After an uncomfortably long time, Jared jumped up. Jensen started to get to his feet. “No. Just stay here. I need to go get changed. I just flung this on to walk the dogs.”

“You have dogs?” Jensen hadn’t known that.

“Yeah. Two. You’re not allergic or scared or anything?” Jared looked adorably concerned.

Jensen tried to smile reassuringly. “Not at all. I love dogs. My mom’s allergic so we can’t have them.”

Jared looked so delighted that Jensen found himself smiling a lot less nervously and just enjoying the appearance of dancing dimples. “You want to meet them?”

Jensen nodded and followed Jared through to the back of the house. “This is my room. You have to ignore the mess,” Jared told him as he pushed the door open.

It turned out Jared hadn’t been kidding about the mess. There was a mess of clothes at the end of the bed, the bed was unmade and there were piles of books and DVDs and games scattered around the desk on the other wall. A few tissues lay at the side of the bed and Jensen tried not to think too hard about that. Jared looked horrified for a moment, then he shrugged. He crossed the room to the French doors that led into the back yard and opened one. He whistled loudly and two large brown dogs raced across the lawn towards him. Jensen laughed as Jared struggled to stay on his feet. The dogs wriggled their entire bodies in happiness as he ran his hands through the fur on the top of their shoulders.

The dogs spotted Jensen soon enough and came to become better acquainted. He knelt down to give them proper attention and immediately felt a rough tongue swipe at his cheek. He laughed as he pushed the enthusiastic dog away. The other one was a little shyer and sidled up to sniff cautiously at Jensen’s outstretched hand. It soon let him scratch gently along the top of its head.

“Harley is the rude boy and Sadie is normally much more shy around strangers.” Jared told him, rooting in the depths of his closet. He pulled out neatly folded jeans and another t-shirt. Jensen continued to scratch the dogs and kept his eyes firmly on Harley as Jared pulled off his old t-shirt and tossed it to join the pile at the far end of the bed.

“They’re good dogs,” Jensen replied. Jared came and sat opposite him, laughing as Sadie thrust her nose in his ear. Jared rubbed his arms along her side. He still hadn’t put on his fresh t-shirt and Jensen couldn’t help but let his eyes wander over the tanned skin of Jared’s torso. He dropped his eyes back to Harley’s ears as soon as he was aware of what he was doing. Then the doorbell rang and Jared swore. “Could you go get that?”

Jensen scrambled to his feet and retraced his steps to the front of the house. He was a little disappointed to see Chad and Sophia on the front step. “Jared is just getting changed,” Jensen blurted out.

They shared a significant look before pushing past Jensen into the house. “The lazy slob,” Chad muttered as he lugged his double bass into the room. “Jared!” he yelled out at the top of his lungs. Jensen winced as he wondered if his ear drum had exploded.

“I’m here. No need to deafen us all.” Jared appeared in the doorway. “Just ‘cause you bums are too lazy to be punctual.”

Sophia had headed into the kitchen, obviously comfortable here. “I resent that remark.”

“I resemble that remark,” Chad retorted. “Where we practising?”

“Basement.” Jared opened a door on the far side of the hall, revealing a set of steps down. Jensen went through to the kitchen to collect his cello and followed Sophia down the steps. She was muttering about Chad always making her late, but Jensen got the idea that she didn’t mind that much.

Jared’s basement was obviously some kind of music haven. A piano stood at the far side of the room with neatly labelled shelves containing scores behind it. Posters advertising everything from classical concerts to local bands decorated the other walls. There was a couch and a TV with an entertainment system underneath it there too. Jensen got the idea that this was Jared’s preferred hang out.

Jared gestured him towards a set of four upright chairs and music stands that were set up in the middle of the space. Jensen sat down cautiously. Chad slung himself in the chair next to him. “I’m Chad.”

“I know,” Jensen replied. Then he busied himself with getting his instrument set up. Chad grunted beside him and did the same. Sophia was pulling a piece of music out from the shelves while Jared played with the blinds on the narrow high up windows. Jensen sat stiffly when he finished, clutching the music he’d brought with white knuckles.

Jared came over and got settled opposite Jensen. “So what did you bring?”

Jensen held out his hand and Jared grabbed the sheets. “I wasn’t sure what to bring,” Jensen said. “So I brought something classical, something more modern and...” Jared had pulled the bottom sheet to the top. He looked at Jensen quizzically as he looked it over. “That’s just something my friend Chris wrote.”

“Chris Kane? Senior last year?” Chad asked. Jensen nodded his head. Chad sighed. “He was so cool.”

“I see two names here, Jensen.” Jared spoke in a mock serious tone. “Is it for cello and guitar?”

“Yeah. But I thought it was kinda interesting...” Jensen cursed himself. He wasn’t trying to come off as egotistical and conceited. He just thought Jared might be impressed.

Jared hmmmed. Then he placed the paper on the stand in front of him and brought his violin to his shoulder. He sketched out the guitar part. Jensen was impressed by how confidently Jared played it. He tried to stop squirming in embarrassment and start listening. Jared stopped after a minute. “What else?” He flicked through the pile of paper. “You’re a Battlestar fan?”

Jensen had picked up a piece of the soundtrack score. That was the alternative piece he had been planning to offer. “Yes. But the music isn’t all science fiction-y. This bit is really...”

Chad jumped in. “Can I talk about complete box sets and action figures now, Jared? Can I?” He looked like all his Christmases had come at once. Sophia rolled her eyes and hit him.

“I like it too. And I like this bit of music. It’s great. You’re great. Perfect. It’s so nice to have some new ideas,” Jared stuttered, as he shuffled the pieces of music before handing them back. Chad and Sophia exchanged another one of those significant looks. Jensen was just glad that they didn’t think he was a complete idiot because of his music choices. He doubted they’d be so eager to discuss BSG if they knew he preferred Helo to Number Six or whatever.

Jared seemed as eager to start playing as Jensen was then, starting them off on a piece from orchestra before bringing out some of his ideas. By the time Jensen’s stomach was starting to complain it was ready for lunch, they had fallen into a nice rhythm. He didn’t want to stop. It felt amazing catching Jared’s eyes and playing with him, hearing their instruments come together in a totally different way.

Chad was the one who broke the spell. “My fingers are about to fall off. And my stomach thinks I’ve cut my throat. And all the eye f-“ His last statement was broken off by a sharp elbow to the ribs from Sophia.

Jared laid his violin down, looking reluctant. Then his stomach gave an enormous rumble. “Guess you’re right, dude.” He stood up and lifted his arms above his head to stretch. “You guys want to grab some lunch here? Jensen?”

Jensen hesitated. He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to spend more time around Jared. But it would look weird if he said yes and the other said no. Chad answered for them all. “You invite us all over here and don’t provide food. That’s low, Padalecki.”

“I can load up the X-box while I get the sandwiches together...” Jared suggested. His eyes turned to Jensen. “C’mon, Jen. Kick my ass at Mario Kart?”

Jensen nodded and smiled. Jared had called him Jen. Not even his closest friends called him that. It was always Jensen – or Jenny from Chris.

Sophia groaned. “If you guys are playing games, I’m getting Sandy over here for some girl talk.” She started climbing the stairs to the first floor.

Chad laughed at her as he clambered up behind her. “You just want Sandy to take your turn. She’s better at the game than any of us.”

Jared turned to Jensen. “I’d like it if you hung around. It’ll be nice. Make you feel part of the group. Get to know us.”

How could Jensen turn that down? “Sure.”

  
Jensen wasn’t so sure that it had been such a good idea an hour later. Sandy had brought over pizza and sat beside Jared on the sofa. Jensen had ended up on the periphery of the group on an armchair. He watched in fascinated horror as Jared ate a piece of pizza from Sandy’s hands, snapping at her fingers like one of the dogs. He tried watching Chad and Sophia argue over the game but it quickly became clear that they were using the nudging and name calling as a bizarre flirting ritual.

Jensen felt like a fifth wheel. An unwanted, unpopular, uncomfortable fifth wheel. He wondered if there was a polite way of leaving. He could pretend to get a text summoning him home or get Chris to call him. But even though he felt totally out of place, he was still in the presence of Jared Padalecki and all the pain caused by seeing him flirt with his girlfriend was worth it for the odd smile and joke that Jared threw him.

Jensen was preparing to gather himself to leave when Jared suddenly shifted on the sofa. “Jensen – you haven’t had enough pizza!” He clambered out of the soft embrace of the cushions and scooped up a slice, holding it out in front of him. He knelt down and crawled across the carpet towards Jensen. Jensen held out his plate but Jared refused to let the pizza go. Instead he brought it towards Jensen’s mouth, making aeroplane noises.

“Dude, I’m not a kid,” Jensen protested. He couldn’t help laughing and opened his mouth to snatch a bite as the pizza flew past his mouth.

Jared grinned widely. “I know that. But food should be fun.” Jared kept feeding Jensen the pizza. Soon enough, Jared’s fingers were close to his lips. Jensen found himself wondering what would happen if he were to slip his tongue out and wrap it around one of Jared’s long, elegant fingers, draw it into his mouth and suck it clear of grease and tomato sauce. He didn’t have the chance to find out. Jared shoved the last bit of the crust into his own mouth and proceeded to lick the worst of the mess off his own fingers. He was still kneeling in front of Jensen. Jensen found his grin slipping and his eyes widening. He couldn’t let his imagination run wild here.

Jensen had a sudden flash of where Jared might run his spit soaked finger tips next. Something must have shown on his face because Jared paused, his face taking on an unreadable expression. His eyes focused on Jensen’s once more. Jared leaned forward, his hand dropping to the arm of the chair. Then Jared seemed to become aware of the other people in the room again.

“You have to come and play me. I might even win a game for a change,” Jared declared, seizing Jensen’s wrist and pulling him up. Jared scrambled to his feet, drawing Jensen up and then forcing him down on the sofa. Sandy had squashed herself up against the far side, but she moved when Jared came to sit beside Jensen.

“There’s no way I’m sharing the sofa with two giants, Padalecki.” She didn’t sound upset at moving though. She settled in the vacated arm chair. Jensen had to wonder if he had misread the relationship between her and Jared. Then Jared leaned back, having retrieved the controller from Chad and Sophia. His body pressed tight alongside Jensen’s side.

“Jensen and I could have made room for you, Sand,” Jared said, gesturing to the miniscule gap he had made at the end of the seat. Sandy flipped her middle finger at him. Jensen poked at his controller and a new game came up. Jared hadn’t moved back at all. Instead he settled even more firmly alongside Jensen, thighs and arms pressed tightly together. Jensen could feel the muscles flexing in his arm as he prepared to smush all the buttons on the keypad.

Jared lost. Jensen couldn’t help but smirk at Jared’s crestfallen expression. “Sorry, man. I don’t really play that much. Beginner’s luck?”

“Nah. I just suck.” Jared grinned at him then flung his arm across Jensen’s shoulders and pulled him close. “Maybe we can team up next time?”

Jensen nodded, suddenly finding it hard to breath. Jared was holding him tight against his side. Jensen wondered if Jared had any idea what even that simple touch was doing to him. Jared smiled and tossed his controller down to Sophia with his free hand. He didn’t remove his arm from around Jensen and spoke to the others. “Why don’t we see some girl on girl action?”

Jensen leaned over to hand his controller to Sandy as Chad whooped. Sophia made a face at Jared’s suggestion but was soon concentrating fiercely on the game. The girls were fairly evenly matched. Jensen leaned back, expected Jared to retrieve his arm. Instead, Jared pulled him close again and bent to whisper into his ear. “I’m glad you stayed, Jensen.”

Before he could even think of a reply, Jensen felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. He had to wriggle free of Jared’s arm to retrieve it. It was a text from his mother. “And I have to go home now,” he said, ruefully.

“I’ll help you out to the car,” Jared offered, standing up.

  
Jensen spent an hour on the phone that night with Danneel discussing every tiny detail of the rehearsal. Her suggestion that Jared was maybe a little interested was met by firm denials though. “I think he’s just really friendly. I mean, everybody likes him.”

“Yeah. And I wander around half naked, touch at every opportunity and do the sexy food thing just because I’m friendly,” Dani retorted. “Jared has moves.”

“But he was doing some of them to Sandy too.” Jensen felt like his head was being pulled in two. “I’ll just have to wait and see what happens in school on Monday.” Jensen decided then and there that he was just going to avoid Jared Padalecki until he had worked out what exactly was going on.

  
What happened in school on Monday was even more confusing. Jared seemed to be everywhere – waving at Jensen down hallways, slumping into seats next to him in classes. At lunchtime, Jensen was heading for his usual seat when Jared called him over. It would be impolite not to speak to him.

“Hi!” Jared’s grin was enthusiastic. “Want to eat lunch with us?”

“Can’t leave Dani alone,” Jensen replied. There was no way he could sit and watch Jared suck down water from the bottle sitting in front of him without imagining him sucking down... And the mental picture was firmly in place. So much for avoidance.

Jared slid out of his seat and grabbed his tray. “No problem. I’ll come with you.”

Jensen led the way over to the far side of the cafeteria. Danneel was talking on her phone and waved as she saw Jensen. He put his lunch down opposite her and was even more worked up when Jared put his tray down beside his. They sat down, shoulders brushing, personal space impossible to maintain in the tight confines of the lunch room. Danneel continued to talk on her phone.

“I was thinking,” Jared began, hesitantly. He fumbled with his fork for a minute.

Jensen couldn’t have responded if he was paid to. He was too busy trying to persuade his cock not to react to the press of Jared’s leg against him. He’d spent too long in the shower jerking off to the memory of Jared’s body against his for his body not to want to react. And the more he was thinking about how wrong it would be, the more his cock seemed determined to stiffen.

“Have you seen “Master and Commander”?” Jared asked, out of the blue.

Jensen had to think hard. He was sure he’d seen some porn with that title but he doubted Jared had. “Don’t think so,” he ventured.

“It’s cool. Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. And they play this duet in the film. Cello and violin. I was thinking you might like to have a go at it. With me. But we could watch the film first.” Jared stopped talking. Jensen had always loved how Jared got enthusiastic about something and just spoke about it. He smiled at him. Then realised there was an implied question there.

“That sounds good. If you don’t mind.” Jared’s answering grin was enough to convince Jensen that Jared didn’t mind.

“Cool.” Jared went back to playing with the pasta on his plate. “So, what are you doing tonight?”

“After practise?” Jensen asked. Jared nodded. “Homework, I guess.”

“You want to come over to mine and watch the film, then, if the homework can wait.” Jared looked up at Jensen. He had his shoulders hunched as if Jensen was going to reject him or something.

“Won’t your mom mind?” Jensen could kick himself. Here the guy of his dreams was asking him over to hang out and he was talking about his mom.

“She’s used to it. I’ll just call her to let her know. You mind giving me a lift home? Then she won’t need to come pick me up after practise.” Jared took a swig from his water bottle and Jensen couldn’t quite process the question as he watched the movement of Jared’s throat.

In the end, Jensen just breathed out “Yeah” and hoped it was a suitable response.

“Great. See you at practise!” And with that, Jared was out of his seat and heading out of the lunch room.

Jensen watched him go and then turned to look at Danneel once more. She was looking at him speculatively. “What?”

“That was you being asked on a date, Jensen Ackles.” She waved one of her perfectly manicured hands in his general direction. “That boy is totally gone on you.”

Jensen shook his head as he returned to his lunch. Dani was just being her usual fag hag supporter club.

  
Practise flew by and Jensen was loading his cello into the back of his car before he knew where he was. Jared had hung behind to chat to Mr Morgan but came trotting over to slide his violin in beside Jensen’s instrument.

“Hope you hadn’t forgotten our date?” Jared asked, slouching slightly to look Jensen in the eyes.

“Date?” Jensen stuttered out. “I thought we were just going to watch a film.”

Jared’s smile faded slightly. “Yeah. Anyway. Don’t get your hopes up. I never put out on a first date.”

Jensen climbed into the car and started it. Jared was just teasing him.

“What about you, Ackles? Do you put out easy? Or does a girl need to wine and dine you first?” Jared seemed comfortable in the passenger seat, long legs stretching out into the footwell. Jensen turned the radio on low, buying time. Then he snapped it off.

“Jared. I know we’re just starting to hang out but...” Jensen knew that admitting this to Jared was probably a bad idea. “I just don’t want you to find out later and be all freaked out. And if you want to stop hanging out, it’ll be fine.” Jensen concentrated on drawing to a stop at a red light.

“Find out what, Jensen?” Jared’s voice was soft.

Jensen looked sideways at him. Jared was watching the lights change. Jensen accelerated across the junction. “A girl wouldn’t have much luck if she was to ask me out. Because I’m not interested in girls.” Why was it so hard to say? He’d come out to people before. “Maybe I should wear more pink or speak with a lisp or something.”

Jensen kept his eyes on the road but he sensed Jared shifting beside him. “Are you trying to come out to me?” He didn’t sound angry or upset.

“I guess. I’m gay.” There. He’d said it. To the guy he had the world’s biggest crush on.

Jared let out a laugh. Jensen shot him an annoyed glare. “Sorry, man. I’m not trying to diminish the importance of the revelation. But it’s pretty obvious. It’s nice that you trust me enough to tell me though.”

“Nice?” Jensen couldn’t believe how Jared was taking this. “You knew?”

“I suspected,” Jared corrected. Jensen parked the car neatly beside Jared’s house. He couldn’t move for a moment.

“But...” Jensen didn’t know how to say this without sounding totally self-involved. “You kept touching me.”

He watched as Jared dragged his eyes up Jensen’s body. “Yeah” was all he said before getting out of the car.

  
Jensen couldn’t wait until he got home to phone Danneel. He parked the car in an empty strip mall lot and called her. Danneel listened to the entire story in surprising silence.

“So? What do you think?” Jensen asked when she still didn’t respond.

“Can I say I told you so? Cause that’s what I want to be saying.” Danneel’s laugh floated through the handset. “He’s totally into you.”

“Then why didn’t he do anything? Or say anything?” Jensen knew he was whining but he couldn’t help it. Jared had sat quietly throughout the film. In the end, Jared’s brother and sister had watched it too.

“Patience, my young apprentice. You have much to learn of the mysterious ways of the man.” Danneel was chuckling to herself once more. “It’s nice to know that gay dating is every bit as confusing as straight.”

“Thanks for your help,” Jensen grumbled and hung up. Dating? Could Jared and he be dating? He banged his head down on the steering wheel. Who could have thought that Jared Padalecki would be taking over even more of his brain capacity than he previously had?

  
Saturday morning practise seemed to be progressing smoothly. They would play, Chad and Sophia would argue and then they’d hang out and play games. Everybody still beat Jared. Sometimes Jensen would have to head off home early, but most of the time he spent getting to like the others more. There was something nice about making new friends and getting to know the boy that had pretty much been his constant fantasy since he became aware that his dick was hell of an interested in guys.

Jensen was a little fed up though. He didn’t know if Jared was being flirty or just being friendly when he sat next to him and dragged him close. Jared didn’t act like any of his other guy friends. Steve and Chris rough-housed, sure, but were more likely to empty beer over his head than to wrap themselves all around him like Jared was prone to doing.

He parked in what he thought of as his usual spot one Saturday morning to see Jared sitting on the front porch spinning a basketball between his hands, wearing long shorts and a t-shirt. Very jock like. Jared waved as Jensen climbed out of the car.

“Don’t bother with grabbing your cello,” Jared shouted. “Chad and Sophia are having a major relationship crisis.”

“Oh. Are they breaking up?” Jensen tried to sound concerned. He didn’t want to admit that he had probably lost track of whether they were actually together at the moment. He came over to stand awkwardly beside Jared who grinned up at him.

“They’re probably having sex.” Jensen felt himself flush at Jared’s blunt statement. “I think Chad’s parents are visiting his grandmother or something.”

Jared spun the basketball while Jensen shifted from foot to foot.

“So should I go?” Jensen jerked his thumb in the direction of his car.

Jared continued to grin up at him. “Do you want to?”

Jensen wasn’t sure how to answer that. “I don’t know if we’re the kind of friends who hang out regardless or only if we make plans,” he admitted softly.

“Are you always so polite?” Jared asked, curiously. There was no judgement in his tone. His grin did lose a little of its brilliance though.

Jensen shrugged. It was just the way he’d been brought up. “So. Basketball? You any good?”

“You’re not exactly dressed for it, dude.” Jared flipped the ball between his hands again.

Jensen rocked back on his heels. “I could be. It’d take me fifteen minutes. Want to come keep me company?”

  
Jared travelled enough in Jensen’s car that Jensen didn’t bother moving the passenger seat back into position anymore. Jared was also familiar enough that he could fiddle with the radio and find the most annoying station possible. Jensen had tried slapping his hands away from the dial before but knew it didn’t work for long.

He still tried. Jared brought his hand up to find some cheesy teeny pop station and Jensen slapped his hand down. Jared tried again. Jensen tried putting his hand over the entire radio. Jared was obviously on a mission today. He grabbed Jensen’s hand and brought it to rest on his knee. His bare knee next to his bare thigh. Jensen concentrated on breathing normally as Jared kept Jensen’s hand pressed tightly down with one of his own. Jared’s hands were huge, covering all of Jensen’s, making it impossible to move.

Jared reached over with his other hand and found the station he was looking for. “Once more, I am king of the radio,” he crowed.

“King of the dorks,” Jensen replied. He wasn’t sure what he should do about his hand and settled for a couple of half hearted tugs. Jared’s grip tightened. Jensen found himself quite happy to let his hand settled tight on Jared’s leg for the rest of the too short trip.

  
It wasn’t until he was swinging into his driveway that Jensen realised Jared had never been to his house. Not properly. Jared had sat in the car outside while Jensen dropped off his sister or picked up some music but he’d never been inside. It seemed like the logical thing to say, “Wanna come in?” Jensen hadn’t really thought this through.

He regretted asking Jared in the minute they stepped into the cool foyer. His mother had been polishing the floors and the entire place smelled of furniture polish and elbow grease. Jared stuttered to a halt before toeing out of his shoes and then picking them up. Jensen blanched a little as he opened the door through to the rest of the house.

“C’mon up,” he said, praying Jared wouldn’t notice how unnaturally neat the house was. Obviously his mother was upset about something and Jensen just hoped he hadn’t done something to set her off. He squirmed at the thought of her saying something in front of Jared.

They made it through the house without running into anyone else. Jensen wondered if his dad had taken his sister out as the house had that odd, echoing empty feel. He could hear the clock ticking in the living room. Jared’s house was never this quiet. The dogs clattering around made more noise than their muffled footsteps on the stairs.

Jensen ushered Jared into his room and then he looked at it with new eyes. Everything was perfectly organised and put away. Even the books on his shelves had all their spines aligned. Jensen wondered if Jared thought he was some kind of freak.

“So, this is me,” Jensen muttered. He headed for his closet to pull out suitable clothes for basketball. He wondered if he should head for his tiny en-suite bathroom but decided to just get changed then and there. The quicker he was changed, the quicker they could get back to Jared’s.

Jared was looking at the pinboard above Jensen’s desk. Beside his neatly colour coded schedule and deadline calendar were a few photographs. Jared was examining them closely. “I never realised you were such good friends with Chris and Steve,” he said, turning to look at Jensen.

Jared froze. Jensen had taken off his neat shirt and was hanging it back up. He hadn’t yet put on his basketball gear and Jared seemed to be fascinated. Jensen looked down at himself. He was scrawny compared to Jared, nothing to write home about. He started to draw the long, baggy t-shirt he’d grabbed up to cover himself.

In an instant, Jared had crossed the floorspace between them. “No,” he said hoarsely, before clearing his throat. “No. Don’t be shy.” Jared’s eyes were dark and he was standing too close for Jensen to feel entirely at ease. Jared gripped Jensen’s wrist tightly, just on this side of pain, to stop him moving away. He eased even closer until he was nearly pressed chest to chest with Jensen. Jensen didn’t know where to look. Straight ahead placed his eyes right at Jared’s lips. Higher, he was staring into Jared’s eyes. Lower...

Jensen chose to look up.

Jared didn’t break eye contact until the very last minute as he pressed his lips dryly to Jensen’s. This kiss was nothing more than a brief brush, but the very taste of Jared against him sent uncontrollable shivers up and down Jensen’s spine. Almost without volition, Jensen followed Jared as he pulled away slightly.

“Is this okay?” Jared breathed. Jensen nodded, not trusting his voice. Jared ran his tongue over his lips, harsh ragged breath loud to Jensen’s ears before moving in again. The kiss lasted longer this time, Jared pushing more firmly against Jensen and Jensen meeting him for every second.

A knock at the room broke them apart. “Jensen?” It was his mother.

Jensen pulled the t-shirt over his head and smoothed his hair as he went to open the door. “Hey. Practise was cancelled so I came back to get changed. Jared and I are going to play basketball.”

His mother was pale and there were lines of tension tight around her eyes. She smiled politely, however, as she looked past Jensen to see Jared standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. “Why don’t you come into the kitchen and I’ll get you something to drink while Jensen gets ready for you?”

There was no polite way for Jensen to dissuade her without looking really awkward. “That sounds great. I’ll just be a minute.”

Jared left, smiling equally politely at Jensen’s mother. Jensen heard “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs Ackles.” as he closed the door behind them and leaned against the wall beside it. He unfastened his jeans quickly, trying not to jar his half hard cock. He was almost tempted to lock himself in the bathroom for a few minutes and deal with it. But that would mean leaving Jared alone with his mother for longer than he really should. Jensen made quick work of changing his jeans for long shorts and grabbing his sneakers. There was a water bottle in the fridge he could use.

  
In the car, Jared didn’t play with the radio. He snapped it off. “Your mom seems nice.”

“Yeah,” said Jensen. He kept his eyes firmly on the road. They were almost back to Jared’s. Jensen’s brain was jumping about from the kiss to his mom to the road. He couldn’t think about anything for longer than a couple of seconds before it all whirled around in his head.

“You’ve got a lovely house,” Jared tried. Jensen snuck a look at him. Jared looked worried.

“My mom likes to clean.” Jensen returned his eyes to the road. He kept his hands at ten and two. He hoped Jared didn’t notice his white knuckles.

“And I kissed you?” Jared’s voice was a little shakier now.

Jensen nodded. “Yeah. That happened. No question about it.” They were almost back at Jared’s house. “If you just want me to drop you off, I understand.”

“What?” Jared sounded shocked. Jensen parked the car and turned it off. He still didn’t look at Jared.

“I get it. You were just experimenting. You’re not gay. You’re confused. You just want to be friends. Or maybe not even that.” Jensen tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice. It was a struggle. He’d really enjoyed being friends with Jared and to have it ruined like this was going to hurt.

“Did you like it?” Jared put his hand on his knee.

Jensen couldn’t take it any longer. He looked up at Jared and saw that he wasn’t disgusted or uncomfortable. If Jensen had to categorise it, he would say Jared looked hopeful. Jensen nodded, not trusting his voice.

Jared tightened his hand on Jensen’s knee then lifted it away. “So let’s play some ball.”

  
Danneel was at a loss. Jensen lay on her bed looking at the pictures of famous paintings pinned to her ceiling and waited for her usual smart comment or some insightful remark. She said nothing. Eventually he rolled over to look at her. She was sitting with her mouth open staring at him. Jensen rolled back over. “So I guess you don’t know what to make of it either?”

Rehearsal Monday after school was odd. Jensen still wasn’t quite sure what to make of Jared’s actions. They’d kissed. That had to mean something. And Jared seemed quite happy to ignore the fact it had even happened when it pretty much meant everything to Jensen. He was tempted to batter his head off the music stand in front of him rather than try and follow the incomprehensible music on it. Even Mr Morgan must have realised something was off, as he stopped the rehearsal to ask if Jensen was feeling okay.

Jensen had tried to smile reassuringly but was sure it came off as rather sickly.

Mr Morgan practise ended a little earlier than usual. “We need to organise the rooming for the senior trip.” He pulled a folder towards him. “My suggestion is that people gather round and write names in and then I’ll reorganise as needed. Same sex shares only, Murray.”

Jensen looked over to see Chad making a face. He turned, automatically now, to share the joke with Jared only to see Jared looking at him thoughtfully. The lowerclassmen in the orchestra starting drifting out as Jensen and Danneel came over to the table. Jensen picked up the pen only to see that Jared had already put his name down. Jared had put his name down to share with Chad and him. Mutely, Jensen passed the pen to Danneel. He looked up to see Jared watching him. Jensen gave a short nod and was rewarded with a brilliant grin.

Jensen realised then and there that he had to stop worrying about what the kiss had meant and start thinking about what might happen if Jared was to try it again.

As if he was some creepy mind reader, Jared fell into step beside Jensen. “I’m thinking that Chad will pretty much sneak off to Sophia’s room as soon as he can. That’ll pretty much mean we’re sharing by ourselves. That okay?”

Jensen decided to take the bull by the horns. “That’ll be more than okay.” They were still surrounded by people and Jensen hoped Jared would pick up on his additional implication. “I’ll be pretty much more than okay with whatever you want to do.”

Jared’s answering smile really suggested he’d understood what Jensen was trying to say. There was a ghost of fingertips along his bare arm before Jared was heading off to meet his mom. “I’ll call you?”

“Sure.” Jensen couldn’t wait.

  
There seemed to be some unwritten rule that school buses were uncomfortable, loud and smelled mainly of sweaty feet no matter how new they were. This bus was not new. This bus was possibly in service when Jensen’s mother had attended the school. Jensen didn’t examine the stains on the seats too closely as he climbed aboard.

Jensen normally sat near the front of the bus on trips. It wasn’t that he was prone to travel sickness. It was more that he was preventing travel sickness. This time he had no chance. Jared climbed on the bus behind him, placed his hands low on his back and propelled him to the back of the bus. Chad had his head in Sophia’s lap and the rest of his body across the bench seat at the back. Danneel was slapping his feet away from her lap.

“Your chariot awaits.” Jared gestured at the seat. Chad scrambled upright as Jensen slipped in next to Danneel. Jared sat next to him, stretching his long legs down the central aisle of the bus and laid his arms along the back of the seat. Jensen resisted the urge to lean into Jared’s side. “We are now ready to be off.”

Chad pushed Jared’s arm down from behind his head. “Something is off, anyway. Don’t you shower any more, Padalecki?”

“You’re just scared of my natural musk.” Jared pulled Chad close and rubbed his armpit across his face.

Mr Morgan stopped Chad’s retaliation by calling for their attention. He ran through the expectations and rules of the trip. Jensen tried to pay attention but was pretty much distracted totally by the warm solidity of Jared’s arm at the back of his neck. Danneel nudged Jensen, looking at him with knowing eyes. Jensen shrugged.

  
The drive took three hours. Jensen was glad to stretch out when they arrived at the hotel. They had an hour to come to before their first concert. Jensen had just slung his bag on the bed nearest the window when Jared came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Jensen looked up into his eyes as Jared smiled. “Hard to think we’re finally here.”

“A few concerts and a half dozen workshops that exciting to you?” Jensen quirked his eyebrow. “You’re excited about that.”

“No.” Jared moved even closer. “I’m excited about spending some time with you. Alone.”

Jensen pushed at Jared’s chest, resisting the urge to curl his fingers in the material and pull Jared closer. He didn’t want to think about the acres of tanned skin that lay underneath that flimsy cloth. Jared took a step back. “What exactly do you want from me, Jared?”

Jared sat down on the opposite bed and ran his hand over his mouth. “I’m a bit lost here, Jensen. I mean, you tell me you’re gay, you kiss me like that and then you seem to run scared and I don’t know what to do or say. And you get twitchy if I try and get you alone.” Jared’s words came out in a rush and Jensen had to take a minute to think through his reply again.

“You kissed me, first,” was perhaps not the most tactful thing to say. Jared looked quite crushed and started to stand. Jensen put his hand out to stop him and Jared settled back into the bed. “I mean. I do get twitchy. Only because I don’t know what you want either.”

Jared looked up through his messy bangs. “I guess, you?” He sounded uncertain and very young. “But I guess I don’t know how you felt about being out and all. I mean, we do live in Texas and everything. I want to keep this between us. And people we know.”

“Like Chad?” Jensen sat down beside Jared.

Jared stopped trying to tear a hole in his jeans with his bare hands. “And Danneel.”

“So, uh,” Jensen took a deep breath. “Does this mean we’re like boyfriends?”

“No like about it,” Jared said, reaching out with a long arm to pull Jensen closer. “I mean, I do like you. A lot. I meant-”

Jensen cut off whatever explanation Jared was going to ramble into with his lips.

  
Chad looked smug as Jensen and Jared were the last people to meet in the hotel lobby to go to the concert. “Sorry,” Jared said, patently not repentant in the slightest. “Lost track of time.”

  
It was dark out when they returned after the concert. Mr Morgan understood that they were all excited about being away from home but the third time he caught Chad sneaking out of the room he decided he’d had enough. He camped out in the corridor in a chair and waited for everyone to settle down. Chad settled into bed then.

Jensen couldn’t sleep. He listened as Chad’s breathing slowed into snores and rolled over to see that Jared was equally awake. Jared’s eyes were fixed on him, glittering in the faint light from the window. Jensen stretched out a hand between the beds and was delighted when Jared copied him. Their hands entwined, fingers twisting around each other’s. Just because all they’d done was make out didn’t mean that Jensen hadn’t thought long and hard about what those fingers might do with him. He shivered, involuntarily.

Jared must have felt that too. “Are you cold?” He kept his voice as low as he could.

Jensen shrugged. He was disappointed when Jared dropped his hand, then realised Jared was shoving back his covers. Jared sat up on the edge of the bed and glanced across to check Chad was still asleep. A rattling snore seemed to indicate that all was well.

Jared gestured that Jensen should pull down his sheets as he scuttled across the tiny space. Jensen scrunched himself up against the wall as Jared slid down beside him. He could barely breathe.

“I’ll keep you warm,” Jared murmured, near his ear. Jensen had a hard time trying to stop his laughter at that.

“Cheesy, Padalecki. Real classy.” Jensen’s amusement stopped as Jared wrapped his arm around Jensen’s waist and pulled him closer.

“You know what I meant.” Jensen found himself arranged against Jared’s side. He slipped his hand up over Jared’s chest as Jared pulled the covers up. “That’s better.”

“Yeah. Feels weird to sleep together when we haven’t... slept together.” Jensen felt Jared’s arms tighten.

“Got to deal with that one day soon, then.” Jared’s voice was dark with promises. “Now we’re going to scar Chad enough when he wakes up, so go to sleep.”

  
Turns out that having Jared Padalecki as a boyfriend was not much different to having Jared Padalecki as a best friend. There was the hanging out, the playing of video games and the practise of musical items. Jared was a little bit of a freak about practise, always making sure he got his hours in, no matter how much he complained about it.

Jensen was lying on the sofa in Jared’s basement staring into space as Jared finished running through a difficult practise run with a flourish. “You’re amazing,” Jensen said into the echoing silence.

“Thanks,” Jared said softly. He ran through the final notes again. “I don’t know. I keep flubbing this middle section.” Jared flicked through the pages of the music and scowled at it.

Jensen rolled onto his stomach. “I wasn’t just talking about the music, you know.”

Jared flapped his hand to brush off the compliment. “I’m just going to run through it again. Once more.”

“Why do you practise so much?” Jensen asked, sitting up to fix Jared with a stare.

“I want to be good,” Jared said, honestly. He stopped fiddling with the pages and looked back at Jensen. “This is my senior year, my last chance, you know. And if I want to get into music school...” Jared stopped speaking suddenly. He looked at his feet, refusing to meet Jensen’s gaze.

“Music school? Sounds good.” Jensen tried for casual. “We haven’t talked about next year, you know.” There was a sinking feeling in his chest. Jared was right. This was their last chance but they still had most of the year together. And Jensen was still weighing his options about where to go. His plans had tentatively included Jared.

“I didn’t want to talk about it, with you.” Jared looked forlorn. Jensen felt a pang in his chest. “It’s not that I don’t... I just don’t know where this is going. Us. And I didn’t want to-”

Jensen’s pride could only take so much and he cut him off. “I get it. You don’t want to go to college with a high school boyfriend around your neck. I get it. Why don’t I make it easy for you. Let’s break up now so you won’t have to dump me later.”

Jensen gathered his case and stormed up the stairs. He had practise to catch up on. And homework. And everything he’d been putting off while wasting his time on Jared Padalecki.

  
In the end, nothing much seemed to be different. Jensen hung around with Danneel at lunch time. Jared didn’t even seem to notice he existed in practise and he went home and played for hours in the solitude of his room. His mom seemed glad to see him around more. She cooked his favourite meals for a week.

There was something that was different though. No matter how hard he tried, Jensen couldn’t forget the way Jared felt kissing him, sliding hands tentatively up under t-shirts. He couldn’t forget how much he’d wanted to tell Jared that, for some reason, Jensen wanted to be with him more than anything.

It was Chad that who sealed Jensen’s misery.

“Hey, asshole.” Chad stopped Jensen as he was about to head into the Chemistry lab.

“Yeah?” Jensen answered wearily. He knew Chad pretty much didn’t have any filters between mouth and brain.

Chad punched his arm. “Why’d you have to be such a prick?”

Jensen shrugged. There was no way to explain the whole situation and make himself out to be in the right to someone who was Jared’s best friend.

“It’s like wall to wall moping Padalecki. He was bad enough when he didn’t think you knew his name. Now he’s convinced he’s lost the great love of his life.” Chad wasn’t looking at Jensen, too busy pulling books from his bag. Jensen was glad for that as he was certain his face would reveal exactly how wrong Chad’s impression was. “He won’t even practise.”

“What? Jared not practise?” Jensen was shocked.

Chad finally looked at him. “Not one note.” He looked ready to say something else when the teacher called for everyone’s attention.

  
Jensen didn’t pay much attention to the rest of the lesson, nor the one after that. He was too busy thinking over what Chad had said. He was all over the place during Orchestra and ended up almost miming for most of the session. Of course, Mr Morgan not only noticed but also had an extra special treat for them when he called Jensen over to join Jared, Chad and Sophia by his desk during a break.

“I like the idea of your senior string quartet. You got a couple of numbers ready to let me hear?” Morgan looked between them.

Jared shook his head. Chad stared at Jensen. Sophia kept her eyes on the ground. That left Jensen. “Jared had some cool ideas. Some more modern stuff. We haven’t played as a four in a while.”

Mr Morgan raised an eyebrow. “I suggest you start again. I’ve given you a slot in the Christmas recital. I want to hear something next Thursday.”

  
The four of them sat slumped in chairs in the empty rehearsal room.

“There’s a month until the recital,” Sophia pointed out. “I could cram in extra practise during the week.”

“The practise isn’t the point, though,” Chad said, eyes hostile as he looked at Jensen.

Jensen couldn’t look at anyone. “You could find another cellist.”

“Sophia, Chad. Could you give Jensen and me a moment?” Jared’s voice was not entirely even. Chad and Sophia quietly gathered their instruments and headed out. Chad lingered to give Jensen another threatening glare until he was pushed out of the room by Sophia.

Silence hung heavy in the air. Jensen picked at his jeans unwilling to be the one to start.

Jared took a deep breath and seemed ready to speak. Then he took another breath. Jensen didn’t know how to start either.

“Don’t interrupt me,” Jared said, eventually. “I’ve always wanted to play music. My mom says I used to try and play along with any music going on in the house. It’s always been something I wanted to do. And I’ve had this plan about getting into music school since I was in, like, Kindergarten.” Jared stood up and started pacing. “Then you came along.”

Jensen waited for Jared to continue. Jared seemed to have run out of things to say. Jensen decided that it was also a bit unfair to expect Jared to do all the caring and sharing.

“You’re the reason I play the cello.” Jensen could feel his entire face flushing. “Two things in my life that matter… mattered - the cello and you.” Jensen refused to look away when Jared turned to him.

“You didn’t give me time to explain. You just left. I would have – I wanted to know where you were thinking of applying too.” Jared let out a breath. “You’re not an experiment. Not something I’m playing at.”

Jensen tried to keep down the sudden hope that flared in his chest. “I didn’t really mean to say that.”

“Could we give it another chance? The quartet and… stuff?” Jared’s words came out in such a rush that Jensen had to run them over in his head a few times before he understood them. Either that or to let the meaning settle in.

Jensen nodded. “I mean, we’re only seniors once, right?”

“Last chance and everything.” Jared moved closer to him, coming to stand between his legs. “Can we move to the making out part of the making up now?”

Jensen grinned. He looked up. Jared was still had a slightly uncertain look on his face. Jensen surged to his feet and wrapped his arms around Jared’s neck. “Make up sex sounds good.”

“Sex?” Jared stuttered out. A blush spread over his cheekbones but his hands still found their way to the small of Jensen’s back, pulling him closer.

“Well, not here,” Jensen pointed out. He couldn’t wait any longer. He reached forward and kissed Jared, just like he’d wanted to do ever since their fight. Jared responded eagerly, lips parting to let Jensen’s tongue inside. Eventually they had to pull back for oxygen.

Jensen didn’t let go of Jared though, and he was happy to feel that Jared was equally determined to keep hold of him. They didn’t say anything, just grinned at each other. Jensen was moving in to begin another one of those toe-tingling kisses when he heard the door open behind him. He paused and turned his head to see Chad letting the door slam behind him.

“Guess they agree with the quartet being back together,” Jensen said. Jared seemed to be more interesting in letting his nose brush along Jensen’s temple. A light kiss was placed on his cheek. Jensen turned his head to meet those lips and sank into another kiss. This time Jared seemed even closer, even more wrapped around him. Proof of Jared’s interest in getting even closer still was hard and heavy against his hip and Jensen couldn’t help but let slip a groan.

Jared pulled back at that. “Not here, yeah?”

  
The next Thursday, Jensen sat nervously in front of the rest of the orchestra. He’d had the odd solo over the years he’d been part of the group, but had always sat among them. Now he was aware of every eye on them. Jared was the one to lead them off, like usual. They played the couple of the pieces that they’d been frantically practising over lunch and after school since Mr Morgan had dropped his bombshell. Of course, since practise had tended to be interrupted by the occasional make out session, Jensen hadn’t really minded the extra work.

Mr Morgan seemed pretty happy with them, judging by the way he led the applause. Jensen could feel himself finally relax and start to enjoy the moment. He caught Danneel’s eye and smiled when she raised her clasped hands in a victory salute.

“Sounds good,” Mr Morgan said, after letting the whooping die down. “Need one more piece though.”

Jensen watched as Jared grinned. The dimples in Jared’s cheeks just begged for him to dip his tongue in. Jensen had to look away as he knew that this could possibly be the worst time for him to develop any kind of reaction to Jared. He was just glad for the cello in front of his body. Jensen had a moment of wondering if that was why Chad played the double bass.

“We have something, but it’s still kinda rough,” Jared was saying. Sophia and Chad shuffled the sheets of music in front of them. Jensen was confused. They didn’t have another piece ready. Sophia leaned over and put a sheet of music in front of Jensen. He looked over it. It took a couple of minutes to realise that it was the thing that Chris and he had wrote, that he’d let Jared take a look at. It wasn’t in the same rough hand that he and Chris had written it in, though. It looked like someone – and Jensen was pretty sure it must have been Jared – had ran it through the fancy music software he had on his computer.

Jared was watching him now, face a little worried. Jensen nodded and brought his bow into position. Jared started them off.

Jensen knew the piece well enough to be able to listen to the others. Jared had taken the piece and rewritten it, adding in parts to suit all the instruments in the group. He had taken the guitar part and made it pass between the violin and the viola, with Chad even having a section. Jensen’s cello part remained the solid backbone behind it all. When they finished there was another round of applause.

Mr Morgan rubbed his hands together. “I like it. What is it?”

Jared turned around to look directly at Jensen and quirked his eyebrow.

“Chris and I never really came up with a name for it, officially. I always called it Hazel in my head.” Jensen tried to keep his voice quiet enough that it would only reach Mr Morgan, but of course the others heard.

“Holy fuck,” Chad let out. Then Sophia leaned over and cuffed him on the back of the head.

Jared was blushing again, red along his cheekbones. But he didn’t look upset. Instead he looked quite delighted.

Mr Morgan wrapped up the rehearsal then, before any more drama could ensue. Jensen took his time packing up, letting the others rush out around him. Jared hung behind like he used to.

“Do you need to be home straight away?” Jared was scuffing his foot along the floor.

Jensen looked up. “I’ve got some assignments that I need to finish up. But I was ahead on most of them.”

“Is that a yes?” Jared seemed determined to make sure Jensen could give him a lift home.

“Yes, Jared. I thought we’d already arranged that I was giving you a ride.” Jensen finished fastening the latches on his case and stood up. They were alone in the rehearsal room now.

Jared coughed, like he was choking slightly. “My mom is taking my sister out of town for a dance thing. And my dad won’t be home until much later.”

Jensen suddenly realised where Jared might be going. A smile crept onto his face and wouldn’t diminish no matter how hard he tried. “And I might owe you a blow job for what you pulled with my piece of music, right?”

Jared flailed really attractively. Adorably. He was just everything Jensen could have hoped for. Making his mind up then and there, Jensen stepped close and wrapped his arms around Jared’s waist, holding him tight. Jared seemed to respond almost automatically, arms coming to rest on Jensen’s back.

Jensen had one more trick up his sleeve. He gathered all his courage. “And we never did get round to the make up sex.” The line came out smoothly enough, although his voice trembled a little towards the end.

Jared leant so his lips brushed against Jensen. “No pressure,” he said. “Not if you don’t… And we can stop at any time.” Jared looked like stopping might kill him.

Jensen leaned into the kiss and deepened it, trying to let his body do the talking for him. Jared apparently got the message. He laughed, his eyes dancing in sheer joy as he bent to retrieve his violin case. Jensen manhandled his cello through the door and made his way to the parking lot, Jared close by.

Yeah, there were two things he loved: music and Jared Padalecki. And if he had to choose between them, he knew which one he’d go for.  



End file.
